Ravi Shankar in Camden

I really like the chilli paneer from Ravi Shankar. Isaac is really friendly and the food good.

I used to love ravi shankars as I’ve been visiting over twenty years - now I’m wondering if they’ve ever cleaned the place in all those years. Surely some of the money could be spent on a new carpet - it’s so yuck and doesn’t give you confidence that the kitchen hygiene would be any more respectable- food now lacks taste and subtlety - dosas are now mediocre and the Sambal and chitines lacking in taste - starting to feel it’s money over value and care now - can you rise to the challenge and bring the old love back?

It's not nice to see the manager shouting at the trainee waiter on Sat 2nd Nov. It's embarrassing for him and affects the atmosphere. Is there workplace bullying? It does seem quite old school: staff do not learn best in a workplace of fear!.

I recently visited Ravi Shankar and had a mixed experience. We started with the vegetarian aloo chat, which was quite good and had the right balance of spices. However, things went downhill from there. The malai kofta and paneer achar were both disappointing—the flavors were off, and the dishes didn’t taste fresh. The biggest downside was the service. The waiter was rude, making uncomfortable jokes and comments, which created an unwelcoming atmosphere. It felt like they were just waiting for us to leave rather than making us feel at home. Overall, not a pleasant experience and wouldn’t recommend it.

Excellent service from Sultan, and delicious food, thank you!

Amazing food as always, we've been coming here for 35 years. Simple decor, but amazing food!

The food was not great and it was just not a fun good experience and it also just was not great service and there are better places on the same road you can go

Really enjoyed our veggie indian here. Different menu. Dosas excellent and there was a really good buffet for around £13 a head between 12 and 5 on Saturday which was very popular

I worked out during this visit that I have been visiting for over 40 years! And I've never had a bad meal. My wife was bowled over by her Sag Aloo and I plumped for a dosa. Quick, friendly service, tasty food. This isn't smart dining or amazing décor. Just great food.

The guys who work here on a Monday evening don't give a rat's about either the food or service. Ordered an Aloo Channa chaat which should be dominated by fresh spiced cubed potatoes and chickpeas. I counted 4 pieces of chickpeas and a lesser number if potatoes. Instead the dish was packed with crunchy papri pieces in a sweet yoghurt base. When I pointed this out to the waiter, he pretended not to understand English and gave me a "eh-heh-eh" before walking away. When I hail him again and ask him about the same he defends it with a ridiculously laughable justification of people not liking potato and chickpeas. The Mysore masala dosa was worse. A thin strange tasting crepe with too much potato filling, weird tasting coconut chutney and equally bizzare "sambhar". This was no authentic Mysore masala dosa. Will not be returning ever again.

One of my faves for delicious vegetarian food, also well priced, and so handy near Euston station. I dream about the poori especially, but also recommend the dosas and curries. Always a great meal at Ravi Shankar. The service has improved over the years as well, now much warmer and attentive.

A staple in central London :) a good standard south Indian and absolutely lovely staff who make you feel very welcome and cared for. Mum couldn't finish hers and they brought her a box and a little paper bag for the chapati

I love Ravi Shankar. Been so many times and never regret it. Beautiful paper-thin dosa, fluffy steaming idli, and wonderful pani puri.

Decent Indian Vegetarian food near the Euston station.

I think this trades on its reputation from some time back. Service was slow. People serving weren’t that helpful. Food was nice enough. Plenty of better options around these days.

Excellent quality at a very good price - highly recommend this low key place with friendly quick service. Places like this a fewer and fewer in london - lovely experience -

Excellent service by Isaac ans team. Tasty food !!!

Great informal vibe, with bright colours - a bit like a student union games room. Friendly, chatty hosts, whose recommendations are not to be ignored - the thali was delicious and much more filling than expected (two of the four of us couldn't finish it). Healthy too. We'll be back.

Great Indian vegetarian buffet. Service was attentive. Highly recommended.

Great buffet of various indian vegetarian food. Excellent value!

Food was good. Good service by Isaac!

Nice food! Nice service ! Reasonably priced!

The meal was disappointing -the rice was very dry and appeared to have been reheated possibly under a grill or with a blow torch. The salad minimal. Main curry tasted nice but had a substantial amount of potato in it. Dessert inedible -like an even sweeter version of Ambrosia creamed rice pudding . My main reason however for writing this review is to question how this restaurant can charge a service charge without any of this money going to the waiters who served us. We witnessed another customer offering to tip them directly only to be told by the waiter that they were not allowed to accept tips.

I came to celebrate my birthday with my friends and the men who were serving us kept making misogynistic comments about the women and non-binary people who were with me. They thought we couldn't understand as they were speaking Sylheti but at least two of my friends did understand clearly what they were saying. We then confronted them about it and they tried to change the conversation to where we were all from. There was no apology. They were more ashamed that we knew what they are saying. Shame on them!

A friends birthday dinner was ruined by the sexist comments made by male staff members at this restaurant. They were all complicit in making my friends feel uncomfortable and consistently made misogynistic remarks throughout the night, thinking we won’t understand. They were speaking in the sylheti dialect. Once we called them out, they were more concerned about where we were from rather than addressing their remarks. Shameless behaviour. Avoid!

We went to this restaurant for a friends 30th birthday and the staff were making extremely vulgar sexual comments about our group of friends in sylheti thinking that we didn't understand what they were saying when some friends did understand. when we confronted them, they tried to pass it off as a joke and did not apologise but were instead shocked that we had understood what they were saying. we were extremely disappointed and disheartened by this experience and no accountability for mistakes were taken.

We love the food here and it’s a regular place we come. Some staff consistently grumpy, others charming! Kofta this visit was very hard as was the vadai.

It's been ages since I was last here and the dosa didn't disappoint!

Pretty poor overall. A good indicator of a decent Indian restaurant is the Bhel Puri. This one turned up with very little potato, no fresh onion and tasted...old. the paneer kofta was bland (and there were only two koftas for the price). The Paratha had been sitting around: a proper paratha should be crispy, buttery and flaky. This was stale, and I couldn't taste any methi in it (I could see green bits in it, but it was bland). My wife's thali was average and overpriced. Lots of people seem to be loyal to this restaurant - it just felt like a restaurant resting on its laurels. Go to Diwana a few doors down. The food there is vastly superior.

Your waiter behaviour is not good they are rudley and his name is aal

The food was SO good. There are no frills, it's all about the food. The service was fine. Staff were friendly.

Really not as good as I remembered it. Not exactly a warm greeting, but seated on a clean table. Ordered a few starters and 2 thalis. The food was lukewarm at best, not very tasty at all and it wasn't exactly cheap. So many better options in the area. Sad state of affairs for a once glorious restaurant. Drummond Street isn't what it used to be...

Lot of change since my last visit 5 years ago. The buffet selection was disappointing

Delicious vegetarian foods and quality customer service. Staffs are very friendly and having knowledge with customer ne

Just loved the choice, the food, the atmosphere and the friendly staff

Warm cozy and cheap (if you dont have alcohol with your meal) vegetarian restaurant no meat served at all. I love Drummond Street its central London but its authentic and has not fallen to the developers yet. Theres something cozy about it. Your not far from Euston Rail station also.

Looks tempting from outside , food was not as expected, and the service is not good , so disappointing I spent 25£ just for me it’s not worthy food place Specially Indians go some different place n spend we don’t like the food in this place

We visited this famous restaurant and although the welcome was a bit dour the service was good and the food was excellent. As carnivores eating in a vegitarian restaurant we all agreed the food was lovely and reasonably priced for London. I’m convinced it was located a few doors away in the 80’s and 90’s but the owner insisted it’s always been on the same spot but I remember an Italian on this site before albeit downstairs. Doesn’t matter the food was worth it no matter the location. We were amused when one of our party thought the rice pudding dessert served in the same sized pot as the mint yoghurt and kept putting spoon fulls on their main meal, even the dour waiter thought it funny and showed a smile he should use more often. Great experience with friends from Vienna.

We chose this place because I’m vegetarian. I wish we hadn’t. I thought I would have a great choice for once. But the buffet was dry limited and nothing interesting. The menu was literally thrown at us. There was no service no atmosphere no music nothing. A terrible place sadly a waste of money.

Restaurant serving only whites. Terrible attitude towards people of color.

A delicious buffet on Friday lunchtime 12-2:30pm. Friendly staff, very reasonable price and all vegetarian-what more could a girl ask for! The desert selection was particularly good and the pumpkin/squash curry.

Buffet offers large variation of beautiful vegan dishes, food is very tasty. The place itself is super cute, colours of India makes it very homelike and culturally. The service is great, the staff is very polite and friendly. This is now one my favourite places to eat in London

Fresh and tasty food. Love it and my fussy kids loved it too so it must be good 😊

Absolutely terrible experience at this restaurant. We went to Ravi Shankar because it used to have the reputation of having good dosas. My friend and I are both Indian and were very much looking forward to trying this restaurant. Instead the food was cold, hard and inedible. We couldn't eat any of the dishes, they were that bad! On top of this, the service was the worst we've experienced in London. When we spoke to the waiter respectfully about the poor quality of food, he started speaking to us abusively. When escalated our concerns to the manager, he defended the waiter's behavior and make us feel like we were in the wrong. This was shocking. Would never go back and would not recommend to anyone. We spoke to other customers and they said that the quality of food and service has gone steadily downhill. ZERO STARS!

Absolutely terrible experience at this restaurant. We went to Ravi Shankar because it used to have the reputation of having good dosas. My friend and I are both Indian and were very much looking forward to trying this restaurant. Instead the food was cold, hard and inedible. We couldn't eat any of the dishes, they were that bad! On top of this, the service was the worst we've experienced in London. When we spoke to the waiter respectfully about the poor quality of food, he started speaking to us abusively. When escalated our concerns to the manager, he defended the waiter's behavior and make us feel like we were in the wrong. This was shocking. Would never go back and would not recommend to anyone. We spoke to other customers and they said that the quality of food and service has gone steadily downhill. ZERO STARS!

Indian buffet. Price absolutely OK for London. Ambiance very simple. Unfortunately the various dishes were not declared.

The spinach and paneer dosa tasted good but too oily for me. Very loud and hard to chat.

Dinner with friends this evening…great food as always! Have tried a few of the restaurants on Drummond Street but always keep coming back here! Highly recommend!!

I really like this place. The food is good and reasonable prices. Nice as a vegetarian to go somewhere where I can choose from the whole menu. My children like the buffet cos they can see the food and try a little of everything. Good value daily specials on the menu. Sadly I have had to drop a star as the toilets are really grubby and unhygienic.

My parents used to come here over 30 years ago and it's still a great place to enjoy really good quality authentic food, portions aren't too big or expensive so you can order a proper spread between two and not come away overly full. Hidden gem that relies on its reputation and people who come back over generations.

Good was very nice however the waiters were very unprofessional and rude. I thought they were just being off with me however the other reviews have also mentioned the waiters poor attitude

Nice place to eat, helpful staff decor OK. Prices are very reasonable for central London.

It was not a great experience at Ravi Shankar Bhelpoori House. The quality of the food is not upto the mark.

Great option for vegetarians , food is good .

Excellent food and service. The restaurant has a pleasing and easy going atmosphere. Thoroughly recommend this place.

One of the last few 'All you can eat' Indian buffets in London! For 12.95, they provide a decent variety of food. The quality is good but not great, but the food is fresh and tastes authentic. One thing they can work on is their cutlery, they could provide proper plates for their buffet.

poor quality service. they said if l shared a slice of melon with my two year old grand daughter, they would charge an extra £7. The family next to us were warned they should not open a bottle of baby food for their six month old baby who was with them. A thoroughly nasty male staff, typically south indian, treat women with contempt, no understanding or norms and customs of the West. Best to boycott them. Illiterate as well.

Worst restaurant ever. We found hair in the food, when mention to staff they couldn't care less. We decided then to leave the place and visited the toilets before leaving to find mice in there. We run as fast as we could. Stay away from it.

Worst restaurant ever. We found hair in the food, when mention to staff they couldn't care less. We decided then to leave the place and visited the toilets before leaving to find mice in there. We run as fast as we could. Stay away from it.

Met up with family and was pleasantly surprised to find they do an all you can eat buffet most days of the week. It's vegetarian and delicious. There were starters such as samosa, bhaji and pakora as well as naan bread, curries - I especially liked the mutter paneer - and there were even a couple of dessert items such as gulab juman. A right royal feast for the paltry sum of 12.95 (as of January 2024)Wonderful

Lovely Welcome..good smells..staff very helpful...recommended some delicious dishes. Thank you.

I went to this restaurant with my parents. We ordered aloo chana Chaat, Punjabi thali and Mysore masala dosa. Aloo chana Chaat was the worst Chaat I have ever had in my life. It's not Chaat, it's a scam. The other two items were disappointing. I do not recommend this place at all.

The restaurant manager is so disrespectful and rude towards Indians especially south Indians. Me and my husband were visiting London from the US and we went here today. There were only three tables occupied. And only our order was late. When we left we paid by card. Inspite of the transaction being successful without any issues the manager harassed us by asking ID card for some random outrageous reasons. We did nothing wrong and there was nothing to be suspicious at all. We were just normal customers who PAID for the food without any issues. He treated us like some criminals. He said he wanted ID to prove that we are not paying from someone else's card. This is very offensive and no one else in the hotel was asked ID cards. This is truly some targeted hate towards South Indians. So please AVOID this hotel. Their south Indian food was not authentic anyway. Dosa(plain) was in a weird yellow colour and tasted very bad. Sambar was sweet and chutney and masala were tasteless. Their Bhel Puri was good. But with that kind of attitude no bhel puri is going to save this restaurant.

Very bad attitude towards customers. Especially if you are an Indian they don't even bother to answer properly.Most of these restaurants claim Indian restaurant but they are not.I asked for a dish and the old man in beard arrogantly said in a loud voice "can't you see it isn't available on monday" even though it was his mistake that he overlooked.This happened a few months ago but I refrained from writing a review until I heard similar experiences from others. Look out for genuine restaurants.

Good food, but vegetarian only and many dishes seem to be subtle variants of each other. Excellent service.

Behavior issue with the person sitting at the counter, cash only if you order only starters

The restaursnt was not welcoming. I paid £10 for a £4.80 worth food, but I only got a £5 note change. Like? We weren't even informed if we're getting charged for eating in, or for getting a service, which I should respectfully say, by the way, was sh#%, given the fact that they made us feel bad for ordering what we wanted to eat at that time. It's not like I don't mind paying extra if they require it for service charge or whatever, but not when they don't say a word and just take the money, without even doing it appropriately — no receipt, no nothing. Hello? I felt like I was robbed? It's not a big amount of money, but it still matters cz the attitude was so wrong. They might have treated us in a much more respectful manner if we ordered so much food, which in fact, could have happened if they knew how to accommodate their customers without making them feel small. The food served was not even appetising. Eugh, never coming back. Also, not recommended for Indian food cravings. Go somewhere else. There are so much more restaurants around the neighbourhood that gives so much better food and service.

Food is mediocre but what really sets it apart are the awful staff. Slow, condensing and outright rude. Much better options on Drummond Street.

So if you're expecting a clean and welcoming place to eat; don't go here! It's very "cafe" like in terms of service, presentation and quality. We are part Asian So have a good idea on what to expect in Asian restaurants. It wasn't great.

The manager or a senior waiter who ever he is with slightly white beard has very bad attitude. Dosa was good, but gajar halwa was ice cold and when I asked them to heat it the manager intervened and said “cancel his order if he wants it hot”.. the waiters were also upset with this senior/manager’s behaviour… this person will single handedly get this place closed..

Food is re-heated from freezer. Chtney was spoilt and when I mentioned this to waiter,there was no apologies. Spoilt the day for us.

A dhosa treat when near Euston. Go there if you can.

First rate Bhel Poori house. Good prices, great food - so fresh and tasty.

Heard from a friend that Mullims operate incognito as Hindus. They also spit on food to make it halal, which is a process of making food purified per I$1@mic laws. It's scary to even think about it.

A recent slew of 1 stars has prompted me to write a review for these guys. We’ve been going to the Ravi for 34 years since we were students at UCL. It hasn’t changed - I think even some of the waiters are the same. We must have been hundreds of times. The service is always solid but don’t expect over friendliness - they’re quick and efficient and happy to chat if you wish. It’s licensed ( I’ve always wished they had cobra or tiger on draft) and has a menu that includes decent , very tasty thali options if you’re unsure of the menu ( you have to ask if you want shrikand not gulab jaman) and an impressive paper dosa. There’s a buffet on Sunday that’s good value. It’s always busy. We’re not vegetarian but this has never been an issue, the quality of the food is always good - we’ve never had a bad meal there. A great budget choice. It shuts earlier than some of the others on Drummond street - if it’s shut the taste of India up the road is also great and is not vegetarian. It also has draft beer !!

Just passing and looked at menu, good vegan menu, mainly Bangladeshi style cooking, bring your own drinks

This place doesnt qualify as an Indian restaurant given that they dont have the hospitality. We ordered some starters and they refused to serve us which is quite strange. The manager was really rude and I havent experienced such behaviour in any restaurant before where they refuse to serve food just the reason that we didnt feel like ordering mains!

The manager is highly rude and disrespectful. So any single women planning to go there just be aware that you will meet a rude manager. I went there alone for dinner and requested if I could sit by the window however this manager denied so I requested again saying there is no one in the restaurant (except for one couple dinning on the other side ) if I could get the table by the window and I'll move if a group of four comes. I also requested him saying I have had a tough day and it's not a busy restaurant today , can I please sit by the window for dinner as the other offered table was away in the dark corner. To this the manager replies with a high pitch and sternly scolded no you will get that table only or you can leave. Well I left and went to chutney(another Indian food restaurant ) which is less than 1minute away and it was a welcoming restaurant with welcoming staff.

Great food and well worth a visit

Very good, established South Indian restaurant. Excellent vegetarian food from a varied menu.

I love that I can go somewhere and not have to worry about cross contamination. My son and I visited here after a day of theatre and visiting Regent’s Park. The staff gave us a table without booking as we got there early when there was only one other occupied table. It gradually filed up during the two hours we were there. The only server genuinely friendly was the gentleman who spoke with my son a few times. The others barely acknowledged me when I was ordering or checking on our meal. The poppadoms were lovely. The onion bhajia’s were phenomenal. I didn’t really care for my saag aloo as it was too oily but the mushroom rice was absolutely delicious. The roti was tasty. My son had two mango lassis and he loved them. Normally I’d enjoy having that much time in a restaurant but it was very quiet yet it took too long to get our food. I did explain that we didn’t want to wait long between courses and the waiter said okay…okay apparently doesn’t mean this will be passed on to the kitchen. They automatically include a service charge then ask you if you’d like to add a tip. I understand there’s a cost of living crisis & I understand London is expensive but their prices aren’t cheap as it is! Adding a service charge then expecting a bigger tip isn't playing fair. Overall I did enjoy the food and would go again.

I would give it a 0 but thats not possible so I give it a one.

This restaurant came highly recommended by my brother who has been eating here since he moved to London 30+ years ago and it didn’t disappoint. Friendly staff serving lovely vegetarian curries in a no fuss style restaurant ticked all our boxes. Would recommend and will definitely come again.

I took my father & daughter for the buffet on Sunday. We took a few bhel puri away. Huge variety from daal to dosas. A few puds & fresh fruit as a dessert .... if u've any room in your tum . One of the few places where being a vegetarian would be a pleasure...!

One of the best veggie restaurants in London in my opinion .

The food was mostly good, but the Pani Puri came without any filling (just shell and liquid). The restaurant would solve a lot of its problems if they addressed the issue with the waiter with the white beard (as mentioned in most other negative reviews). He was rude, argumentative, and downright unpleasant. He raised his voice needlessly as if looking for an argument. While the food is alright, there are plenty of better vegetarian Indian restaurants in London and we will not be returning. Would not recommend.

Wonderful food, reasonably priced.

Wonderful selection of salads, vegetable curries and delicious doses. Friendly and unpretentious.

Vegetarian menu only. Thali was great.

Very disappointed. Poor dosa. Sides floppy, soggy and limp. When asked told the chef does not know otherwise. Go and learn then dude. The waiter was very rude. Obviously no training and no manners.

Quick service and delicious food. This restaurant would be good value in many cities; in London it is genuinely unbeatable.

Einfaches indisches Restaurant mit sehr authentischer südindischer Küche. Das Mysore Masala Dosa war echt gut. Die Einrichtung ist einfach aber das Essen ist ausgezeichnet. Gutes Preis Leistungsverhältnis

The buffet was great and the service okay until the payment, when the personnel turned rude. There was not enough money on my card for the whole price so I offered to pay partially in cash. The manager then said there was a minimum of 10 pounds for card payments, so I offered to pay 10 pounds by card and the remaining part in cash. But then the manager said payments could only be done entirely in cash or by card. Why make a problem of something that is not? Spoiled the experience. Plus the toilet was very filthy.

Avoid avoid avoid This resturant own and manage by Bengali’s who don’t even proper idea about the Veg, dal etc. off course the service was absolutely rude, no manner the person with white hair was watching Bangali you tub with full volume when we ask for something he really reacted like we are bothering him. Very poor service, food qwality was pathetic. No hygiene maintained on the top of that they charge 10% service charge without our concern.

Looks good from the outside, old fashioned and charming on the inside. But all goes downhill as soon as you set foot inside. The only words uttered to me by a non-smiling waiter were “Two?”, followed by a pointed finger and “Window”. So, we sat in the window. The next waiter took the order without writing it down and assured us he would remember it correctly. He didn’t. He forgot the rice and ordered a garlic naan (not requested). The starters were OK to excellent (for the onion bhajee) but the mains were bland. At best, the meal was only OK. After so many reviews on here complaining about the impersonal service, why are they not making more of an effort? They charge 10% service charge, but don’t deserve it. This place needs an overhaul, front of house and in the kitchen.

Best quality Indian Vegetarian in Drummond Street, reasonable prices and large buffet on Sundays for £12

Cute veg spot, nice atmosphere and very reasonably priced

Very poor and rude customer service.

I had an absolutely fantastic meal here tonight, my first visit in probably more than a decade. Reading some of the negative reviews, I really thought we were taking a risk by returning. But the service was excellent, the food was fabulous, there was no weirdness about whether we were paying by cash or card (some common gripes), and overall it was as good as I always remember it being. We loitered for an hour or so after we had finished our food, and were never pressurised to move on. Of course we would have been happy to if there had been people waiting, but I think many of those complaining must have gone to a different restaurant than the place I greatly enjoyed this evening. Admittedly prices are higher than my last visit, but two of us had a three course meal, with three large beers between us (the alcohol licence is relatively new, I think!), and with service it came to £57.

This is absolutely my favourite restaurant. Great Indian vegetarian/vegan food at reasonable prices.